The 786 area code is a telephone numbering plan code serving South Florida, including the Miami metropolitan area in the state of Florida, United States. It was created as an overlay to the 305 area code in 1998, meaning that it was added to the same geographical region served by the 305 area code, but with new phone numbers having the 786 area code. The overlay helped to ensure a continued supply of telephone numbers as the 305 area code approached exhaustion due to the growth of the Miami metropolitan area.